


acting like lovers (twelve times trip wondered about coulson and skye)

by zauberer_sirin



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Audrey mention, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Get Together, Nothing Personal is an episode that happened I can't deal, POV Outsider, POV Trip, Realization, Skye and her Huge Crush on Coulson, Trip and Coulson being BFFs is the only thing I want, Trip knows what's up, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-09
Updated: 2014-05-09
Packaged: 2018-01-24 03:02:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1589300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zauberer_sirin/pseuds/zauberer_sirin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not everybody realizes this but Trip <i>notices</i> things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	acting like lovers (twelve times trip wondered about coulson and skye)

**Author's Note:**

> Silly little fic because I already love Trip too much for my own good.
> 
> Title from PJ Harvey.

**one**

The first time it happens is because Coulson knows as soon as he sees the video. Trip didn't ask but he noticed. Trip notices things, people take a while to _notice that_ , but Trip notices things. As soon as Agent Coulson saw the video of Skye and Ward leaving the base he knew the team had been betrayed – Trip _knew_ (even before Jemma found the corpse) Coulson had already made up his mind about Ward.

Then, gathered around Agent Koenig's body, after Jemma gave her evaluation. He doesn't know why he does it but for a moment he stops focusing on her and Fitz and gives Agent Coulson a glance. Trip has been trained in interrogation and profiling – he is not as good as Coulson, the man is kind of a legend, but Trip notices things. He notices Agent Coulson's expression, only seemingly calm, and the way his eyes are not fixed on Fitz as he tries to talk him down but fixed somewhere beyond him, somewhere the rest of the team can't reach, and the way his breathing becomes slightly labored even if he hides it well. The tension in the muscles of his neck. And his voice is not quite... It's _not quite_.

When he warns Trip he'll have a breakdown as soon as he has a moment to do so, as soon as he is allowed to, Trip has the feeling he's not just talking about Grant Ward.

 

**two**

It's that very same day, the second time Trip _wonders_. He gets the feeling he's not wanted here, that he'd be in the way of something tonight – he doesn't know what but something important enough that he gets a weird vibe out of it, when Agent Coulson comes out to the poolside and tells Trip to "live a little". He wonders if Skye is even acknowledging his existence at this point. He doesn't mind. Agent Coulson has had a rough day and Trip can only imagine (no, he doesn't want to imagine, he really, really doesn't want to) how much harder Skye's has been. So he takes his bag of unhealthy delicious crap and walks away towards Fitz and Simmons.

 

**three**

They stand side by side. It's one of the first things Trip notices when they get back to the Bus and start having missions in a semi-regular basis. When the team approaches something similar to normalcy – after Garrett, after Ward. They always stand side by side. This is not an approximation. It's really _always_.

Around the Holocom, Skye normally to Coulson's left, like an assigned seat in a classroom. Walking down the stairs together to get to the lab, discussing something over Skye's tablet. Out in the field, walking side by side, falling behind the rest of the team to share some private opinion about the mission. It's not extremely obvious but Trip is a perceptive man and a man with a decent imagination so it doesn't exactly get under his radar.

 

**four**

"Skye asked me to help out with the rest of her weapons and tactics training," he tells Agent Coulson.

The man looks thoroughly unsurprised and Trip knows what he's going to say.

"She told me. You understand what she's really asking. Don't you?"

He nods. Skye is asking him to be her SO. Trip doesn't know how to reject her. He's not interested in being anybody's SO, his experience with Garrett has soured him on the whole thing.

"I thought Agent May was helping her with the physical training," Trip points out, trying to get out of this.

"She is. This is not about that."

"I see." To be fair Trip cannot imagine May being anyone's SO (though she obviously must have been at some point) and he can't imagine Skye having the patience to follow May's orders. Those two women love each other but they'd probably end up killing each other before the second week of training. Trip knows there's no one else (he suspects Coulson is out of the question, Skye would never agree to be trained by him – Trip doesn't know how he knows these things, but he does, he notices) and he knows after what happened with Ward and HYDRA Skye is set on learning how to do this on her own. _I have to protect myself, I can't be a burden on the field anymore_ she said to Trip when she asked him to do this.

"I think it's a good idea," Agent Coulson says.

"I'm not so sure." Coulson raises an eyebrow but Trip doesn't bulk. Because Trip never had any problem talking back to authority, to a certain extent. His psych evaluation said it was _healthy_. His mother said he got it from his grandfather.

Agent Coulson stands up from where he's sitting and walks towards Trip until they are face to face.

"I think it's a good idea, not just for her, but for you too, Trip, and Skye is probably thinking the same" he tells him. "The two of you have gone through a similar experience, both your former SOs turned out to be covert HYDRA operatives."

Trip can still detect the hint of pain in the man's voice when he talks about it, a certain guilt and brokenness.

"Exactly," Trip tells him. "I'm over the whole thing, with all due respect, it's not for me."

But Agent Coulson smiles at him, an expression Trip has never seen.

"Why don't you try it?" He says and while the man is nobody's boss anymore, not exactly, it sounds like an order in disguise. The smile turns into something like a challenge. "For a bit. To see if the two of you are a good fit. Skye has this way of... well, you'll see."

Trip can't help but wonder.

 

**five**

It's morning and though Skye is not exactly a morning person she is for Trip – she is always up for training, even the days (three a week right now) when she joins May in some hardcore tai chi before sunrise. So in the end they spend most of their breakfasts together, he and Skye, after Agent May has gone to take care of the cockpit and before the rest of the team wakes up.

"I'm really glad you joined our ride," she is telling him, an ordinary morning, like it has just occurred to her. Then she eyes his bowl. "We are eating a lot better now. Before I met you I had never tried granola. I don't think I even knew what granola was."

Trip is beginning to learn the rhythms of this plane. The meals are big things, because even though they all spend 24/7 with each other social occassions are still somehow rare. Jemma told him they used to have game night back when Ward was with them, but not anymore (Jemma's voice did that thing where she breaks a word into syllables, she sounded in pain) and she mentioned Skye had smashed their Battleship set into pieces. Trip inquired no further about that. But without the structure of a designated off-the-clock activity meals are the closest thing to a break they have. It's not like they can afford anything else – HYDRA and the other organizations which took center stage after the fall of SHIELD don't take a break, so they are not allowed to either. They are allowed to eat, though. 

Skye, who is burning through a lot of calories these days with the whole training deal, is reaching for a second bowl and a second glass of juice. She has her hair in a comfortable braid, like most mornings after May Time. Trip thinks she looks cute like that – it might be the whole SO thing but he is beginning to feel an affinity with the girl, something unexpected, like having a really gifted really _weird_ little sister and Trip is not sure he can teach her a lot of things (everything he knows about this comes _from Garrett_ ) but now he doesn't see it as a chore, he really wants to try.

"Agent Coulson never has breakfast with the team, right?" Trip asks, because he has never seen the man join them.

Skye snorts. "Nope."

"Why is that?"

Skye pushes her chair closer to Trip.

"Personal theory? It's a boss-type kind of thing, it's about boundaries."

"He's big on boundaries, uh?" Trip can't help it. Coulson inspires a lot of curiosity in him. It's not that the man is unapproachable, not exactly, it's just that there's something about him that seems _carefully covered_ at all times. 

"Sometimes," Skye replies. Her lips press into a sort of concealed smile.

"You two seem pretty close. Are you?"

"I hope so," she says, and Trip can tell it's honest. "Coulson is the first person in my life who ever trusted me. He thought I could do this job, and nobody had ever thought I could do, _anything_ really."

He narrows his eyes. This is the great thing about being someone who notices things.

"How could anyone meet you and not put all their money on you being great at this job?" he says, because he knows she'll probably like that, and because he means it.

Skye grins, that expression where she curls one side of her mouth much more than the other and it looks really funny on her, Trip likes that.

She puts her hand over his forearm, giving it a little squeeze.

"I'm _really_ glad you joined our ride."

 

**six**

That girl just loves the red car way too much. It's not something Trip has noticed, it's something everybody knows. Neither her nor Coulson let other people approach the vehicle without a suspicious, _watch it_ expression on their faces. Specially after the car almost got totalled. It took Coulson months to repair the thing – it was a matter of money, actually. All they had they had to spend in important stuff, like guns and the Bus' maintenance. The government had frozen all of Coulson's bank accounts since he was part of a terrorist organization and it took him a bit to recover at least a portion of it. In the end it hadn't been nearly enough to repair the flying car (Trip doesn't believe he's earned the right to call it _Lola_ yet) and they had to go to Stark Industries – that was a fun daytrip.

Today has been kind of strange since Coulson left. May was left unofficially in charge for the next two days but everybody is hoping they won't have to leave on a mission. May and Fitz spend their time running diagnostics on the plane together, like this was their yearly vacation, they look almost happy. Jemma is sort of avoiding being alone with Trip these days, which Trip finds amusing and frustrating, there has come a point where Trip feels he'll have to do something soon. He had decided to take it slow, what with Fitz and that whole mess, and what with Neo-Nazi organizations trying to kill them, but maybe he's just being too chill about it (for the record, he's picked up _chill_ from Skye, it's not his word).

So Trip looks for Skye, maybe they can use the free time to review tactics or do something equally fun (he's a fun supervisor). He finds her sitting in the driver's side of the Corvette, working at her computer, knees pressed to her chest, she looks disturbingly tiny. Trip wonders what Coulson would say if he saw her feet on the leather seat.

"Your Fortress of Solitude?" he asks her.

Skye looks up, startled. Gives the accustomed grin. "That would be the SUV. Lola's my island of peace."

"Can I come in?"

Her eyes go big and wide, full of humor. "If you think you are brave enough."

Trip chuckles; it took him a bit to understand the running joke about Coulson and this car and the thinly-veiled threat of retribution if any of the team messed with it. Most of the team decided it was not worth the risk, even touching the thing. Except for Skye, of course. Trip sits by her side.

"Haven't seen you all day," he points out.

She types at her computer, not looking at Trip. "Super weird day, I just – weird day, that's all."

It's not that he is concerned, supervisor-wise. Skye is not exactly a moody person, but only because she would never let it show (Trip didn't ask, but he guesses that comes from being an orphan trying to please the latest in a long string of foster parents, over and over) but he knows she has her ups and her down, sometimes for mysterious reasons.

"Worried about Coulson?" he tries.

She turns to him, stops what she is doing.

"No, of course not. It's a good thing, what he's doing. It's good."

"It's fine. He'll be back in a day or two."

"No, I know, it's just that..." For a moment Trip swears she's going to say that she misses him or something. The man has been gone for six hours. She recovers quickly, though, puts on that smile of hers Trip is beginning to suspect. "It's nothing."

There's something about this situation that bothers and surprises Trip. He thought he knew Skye, knew what Skye was all about. But he is finding that hard to reconcile with her behavior these last hours.

"Mind if I ask you a question?"

Skye tilts her head, puts the laptop away. "It's your prerogative, I think. Like, I'm legally binded to answer to my–"

"Skye."

"Yeah, Trip, you can ask me a question."

"Why did you push Agent Coulson so hard to go to Portland?" he asks.

She frowns, like she doesn't understand. "What do you mean _why_?"

Trip gives her _a look_. A look which Skye refuses to acknowledge. He might be wrong, of course, but now that he is Skye's SO and has spent a good deal of time with her alone he doesn't think he's missing the mark here. He is not going to press her, though. He is nosy, but he is not a douche. 

He's still curious, though.

"You went out of your way to get Coulson there. I was just wondering, why."

She looks away for a moment and Trip gets the feeling he might even get the truth out of her.

"I put myself in her shoes, you know, this woman. And I would like to know, if it were me. Even if it messes me up, even if I was getting over it and knowing he's alive ruins it. I'd just like to know. Wouldn't you?"

"Yes. I would."

"He's been lying to her. He shouldn't have done that." Trip has been thinking about it from Coulson's perspective. Coulson's gracious way of protecting Audrey's best interests. He guesses he should have seen it from the other side, like Skye does. Like Skye obviously does. And he knows how much Skye hates lying, specially when it comes to Coulson. She turns to Trip. "You like Agent Coulson, right?"

"Very much," Trip says, grinning. Coulson is everything Garrett never was and Trip hadn't known how much of a good thing that would turn out to be.

Skye rewards him with the tiniest smile.

"I told him to go to Portland because if someone like Coulson has a chance, even a small one, of being happy... why wouldn't I want to help?"

Trip has nothing to say to that because she's right. Even if he suspects what is really going on with her he can easily believe that was her reason. Because that right there, that sounds like pure Skye Logic.

When Coulson comes back from Portland, a day earlier than expected, with an unreable expression on his face, he doesn't say too much to Trip in the way of an explanation, even though he asks (Trip is the only one who asks about this, the rest of the team pretending nothing is going on, Skye virtually disappearing from sight for the next 24 hours), but Trip doesn't think there'll be more visits, and one word among everything Coulson says to him sticks and makes him wonder: _closure_

 

**seven**

"Are you asking for my permission?" Coulson inquires.

They are in his office and Trip can tell the man does not like this situation.

"No," Trip admits. He is going to do this. They are going to do this. "But I respect you enough to let you know, this is your ride after all."

"We are not SHIELD agents anymore. If you want to date Jemma I have no power to stop you."

"But you don't approve."

Coulson crosses his arms in front of his chest. "That's also irrelevant."

"No, I'm asking you _personally_ , sir. Do you not approve?"

Trip hears him draw a breath.

"No, I don't. But it's not out of ill will, I assure you."

For a moment Trip thinks he is going to give him the " _I know you are a good guy_ " speech. But he doesn't and Trip knows Coulson is a pragmatic man, and an excellent analyst, so he must be calculating consequences and ramifications for the team.

"Is it because of Fitz?" he asks him.

Trip knows Coulson probably has noticed what he noticed himself long ago: Fitz is in love with Jemma. It's unfortunate but evident. Trip himself considered not dating her out of loyalty to the guy but decided it would unfair to Jemma, she is not in charge of Fitz's feelings.

Coulson narrows his eyes. "No, it's not because of Fitz. You and Simmons are not responsible for him. But that is one of the reasons why there are rules for this type of situation – SHIELD has these... regulations–"

Trip thinks his voice gets weird at that word, _regulation_ , files the knowledge away for some other time.

"With all due respect, sir, you've said it yourself. There's no more SHIELD. There are no more rules."

"That doesn't mean the rules were a bad idea to begin with."

"I'm not going to tell you no one is going to get hurt," Trip says. "Or that we won't make a mess out of it. But this team is solid. You are our boss, you know how strong it is. We'll survive."

"People _will_ get hurt," he replies. Trip wonders if it's historical prejudice or something else.

"No one knows what's going to happen."

"Agent Triplett..."

"No. I think you are wrong about this, Coulson."

He can see Coulson is breathing a bit heavier now – Trip doesn't think it's anger, not entirely.

"Yes, you might be right," he tells Trip. "But they came up with these rules in the first place for a reason, Trip. You think you are the first person in this situation? We all get urges. We all wish we could do things we know we shouldn't. That's why we have regulations – no matter how much we'd like to say to hell with it... and..."

Trip raises an eyebrow. "Are you okay, sir?"

Coulson chuckles. Trip thinks he must have lost it, finally. He wonders if he should call May.

But then he stops, and the new expression on his face is a bit unCoulson but not worrying. It's a calm, almost amused expression.

"I apologize," he says.

"Agent Coulson?"

"Yes, Trip, I'm okay. Forget everything I've said since you walked into this office today. We are not SHIELD anymore. We'll just do what we can, as human beings. You're all right. What's more, why don't you take the weekend off, and Simmons too."

Well, this is a sudden change of heart. "Are you messing with me now, sir?"

"No, I'm not. Do it properly," he says, clasping his hand on Trip's shoulder for a moment. He knows Coulson is not the warmest person around, touch-wise so Trip knows he must mean it. "You both deserve it. You were right in not listening to a word I had to say about it."

"Thank you."

"Yeah."

Trip walks out of his boss' office, not before noticing Coulson sounded a bit – he's not even sure _envious_ is the correct word here, maybe between that and _wistful_ about the whole thing. _Oh_ , Trip realizes with a sad smile to himself, so that's how it is.

 

**eight**

He is about to enter Skye's hospital room, eager to see her after the doctors told him she woke up first hour this morning. As her supervisor and her friend of course he is eager. She wasn't in any real danger, but they were all a bit spooked by the whole thing (he had to convince Jemma to go home for the night, because they weren't letting visitors until morning anyway). Jemma, as a doctor, knew better than anyone, that Skye would be perfectly fine but they wanted to keep her under observation because blows to the head are pretty scary. Jemma knew, as a doctor, but as Skye's best friend she barely caught a wink last night.

"I need to teach that girl about balance," May had said about the whole thing, even though Trip considered she was being unkind, it was not like Skye had any chances against a gifted, specially one who could move at that speed. But maybe this was May's way of handling it, being spooked.

But Trip is glad the whole thing is going to be over soon. He asks a doctor and she tells him Skye will probably be able to leave the hospital in the afternoon.

He is about to enter her room.

But then he sees inside through the little window and Skye is awake, all right, but there's no way Trip is walking in there, walking into whatever picture this happens to be. He has no idea what this picture is meant to be, by the way.

Because Agent Coulson is sleeping by the side of her bed, in his suit, chair pulled so close to it that he might as well have climbed into it. His head falls to one side awkwardly and Trip pities the cramped neck he's going to get from that. He somehow suspects Coulson is not going to mind at all. And well, apparently visiting hours are not for everyone.

Right now he seems deep in slumber. Skye is looking at him very intently and in a moment – Trip can't believe he is watching this – without waking him up, she brushes her fingertips across his forehead, slowly, like she wants to trace the deep lines that make the man look worried even when sleeping. There's the tiniest smile creeping on Skye's face and then she takes away her hand, like she's been burned and her face closes down in an expression of embarrassment and self-reproach. It all happens so quickly Trip wonders if he has really seen anything. But that little, weird smile on Skye's face – he has never seen this one before.

He turns around and walks away. He'll visit Skye later.

 

**nine**

He is staring at Jemma's hand over his chest. He loves that bit of her, her left wrist, where there is a tiny constellation of freckles as wrist becomes arm. He loves that spot, loves kissing the soft skin there.

"Hey, no napping," he says into her hair, teasing, when he notices her breathing is evening out against his chest. Tomorrow it's their day off so tonight they can go crazy in her bunk.

"No napping, " Jemma says. "Just a little tiny reprieve."

He grins, kisses her temple, the skin salty with sweat there.

They hear somebody walking up the stairs very near but they are safe in the knowledge that the rest of the team knows how to stay clear of Jemma's bunk when she has her door closed. Everything has settled down into a nice normalcy, the team has accepted this without much fuss. Even Fitz stopped walking around with a puppy face some time ago. But Trip wonders who could be pacing up and down the plane at these hours. He knows May is up before sunrise but it's not that late yet. He knows Skye has chaotic sleeping habits (he even had a chat with her about it, as her SO, but Skye simply raised an eyebrow in reply) and Skye has been having weirder sleeping habits of late. She seems restless, almost frustrated. Trip wonders. Trip _wonders_.

"Hey," he says and Jemma looks up from where she is resting her cheek, right over his collarbone. She has that cute, content, post-sex smile. "Do you ever think Skye and Agent Coulson...?"

"What?"

He looks at her expression. No way. It's not that Jemma lacks imagination, it's that – okay, she lacks imagination in _this_.

Trip smirks.

"Nothing. Never mind. Come here."

He dips his head to kiss her and she meets him halfway, propping herself with one hand on his heart.

 

**ten**

Skye is sitting on his bed while he finishes packing, distracting him, messing with his stuff, being generally annoying in a kind of close friend way.

"So, flying to meet Simmons' parents," she says, impressed. "Are you nervous?"

Trip gives her a smirk. "Not really. I'm great with parents."

"Of that I have no doubts."

They both chuckle. Trip wonders where he left his red sweater, it's one Jemma likes (though she calls it jumper). He is not nervous, definitely, but he kind of is. There have been relationships before but he can tell Jemma is something different. He's not saying something _definitive_ , because Trip believes in taking things as they are, and not banking on plans and expectations too much, but... yes, he wants to make a good impression, even if he knows he probably will anyway.

"So this is serious, uh? You think you and Simmons might get married someday?" Skye asks.

"I don't know. Are you asking about my intentions?"

"I should," she replies, crossing her legs over his bed. Seriously. "But I already told you what would happen to your identity if you ever hurt Simmons. I don't know, actually I was just thinking I've never been to a wedding. Could be nice. But seriously, I tease but, I'm really happy for you and Simmons."

She has her fingers entwinned together, a little nervous gesture. There's something off in her voice.

"I know you are," he says. "You also sound jealous."

He realizes he's taunting her at this point, but he uses the truth. He's taunting Skye because sometimes Trip just wonders what the hell these people are doing with their lives.

"Well, that wouldn't be a surprise," she sighs, using her protective-wall-of-humor voice. "It's been a while since any gentleman has knocked at the door of my bunk, if you know what I mean."

"As your SO I strictly forbid you to ever use that expression again."

Skye nods vehemently, then laughs.

 

**eleven**

"This wasn't supposed to be a dangerous mission," Coulson says, a grimace on his face that is not entirely the pain of the gunshot wounds. He's not too big on apologies so he guesses this is his way of apologizing for putting Trip in danger.

"Sir, every time you say that I pack an extra bulletproof vest."

Coulson chuckles and Trip can tell it hurts; he hopes it's not because the bullet went through at an angle closer to the lung than Trip originally anticipated. He's done what he could with the first aid and thankfully Trip is good at this kind of stuff, like _very good_. And at least, for a moment, the bad guys have stopped shooting at them.

"I can't die here," Coulson says softly.

"You're not going to die."

"I know that. I'm just saying I can't."

And well, Trip thinks, he's right.

Coulson can't die. He is absolutely forbidden to. Trip loves the man. Trip is definitely not going to let him die, he can't lose him. It's been almost one year since John Garrett died, he realizes just now. Trip has noticed a lot of things during this year, learned things he didn't think he needed, under this man, and it had all come so naturally he hadn't realized it was happening. So no, Trip is not going to let anything happen to Coulson.

"I radioed a while ago. We should be getting back-up soon."

Coulson nods. "Good."

Trip puts his hand against the wound (the one in his side, the one on the shoulder he is not that worried about, it looks like just a very uncomfortable scratch), applying some more pressure. "You are okay, sir. It looks a lot messier than it actually is."

"I can't die here," Coulson repeats. Trip is worried by his breathing. "There are still some things I have to do. Things I _have to say_. You know?"

Trip knows exactly what he means.

"I know," he says, and Coulson nods.

 

**twelve**

It takes him a bit to finishing in the shower. Blood is an ugly thing to scrub off your skin, he knows, this is not the first time. He left Coulson downstairs in the capable hands of Jemma and under the curiously hard stare of Skye, like getting shot had been Coulson's fault. It looked like it was nothing major in the end, he had been right all along.

He bumps into Jemma as he is going down to the lab, bloodied shirt in his hand, not knowing where to throw it.

"Is Agent Coulson okay?" he asks her.

She snorts.

"Oh, he's absolutely perfect, just a scratch. Men are so dramatic about injuries. There was just a lot of..." she looks at Trip's ruined shirt in his hand. "Blood."

"He had a bit of a weird moment in the field. Some kind of crisis." She looks worried. "Not that kind of crisis. The emotional kind."

Jemma tilts her face. "Aw. He is a lovely boss but he is rather peculiar."

Trip laughs, threads his hand in Jemma's hair. Even if he left unscathed he was in danger, too, he was there, in that place, and his reaction, his first instinct had been exactly the same as Coulson's, and he remembers that now. He pulls on Jemma's hair and her mouth opens under his. He kisses her hard and tasting of adrenaline he didn't know he had been affected by. He used to be cool about these things – this girl has made him a lot less so.

"You are okay, right?" she asks when he breaks the kiss. "Don't even dream about me not ordering a full physical later."

He smirks. "Oh I'm counting on it."

She rolls her eyes.

"I'm getting some more supplies. You can go see Agent Coulson now."

He does. He starts climbing down the stairs. He doesn't finish, though. He almost makes it all the way down before he sees Coulson and Skye, deep in conversation. He sort of ducks behind the bar of the staircase, not wanting Coulson to notice him in his line of sight. Trip kind of stays where he is, not wanting to interrupt, but not wanting to leave either.

He wonders what the hell is going on with these two now.

Coulson is sitting on the gurney, with Skye standing in front of him, almost too close for this to be a neutral scene; Simmons has put Coulson's arm in a sling and bandages around his waist, but otherwise he doesn't look too bad. A bit pale. Trip realizes he's actually quite relieved to see him do okay, with his own two eyes. But he is intrigued, because though he looks fine, health-wise, Trip has never seen him make such a face as he is making now. He seems calm, but not the kind of _calm_ Coulson does, not the kind of calm that is always one step away from tense, that is always more restraint than peace. Coulson's version of calm is the way he awkwardly grabs his fingers with his other hand when he is talking with someone. That's not calm, not really, Trip knows, but _this is_ , the way he seems to be looking at Skye right now.

It's like Coulson is no longer carefully covering something.

Like a knot has been unmade.

He's talking, making gestures with his uninjured hand. Skye is listening attentively, nodding at every word. They both look more serious than Trip has ever seen them – or well, he can only see the back of Skye's head but that is one serious back of the head. Coulson talks for a long, long time; Trip doesn't mean to stare, doesn't mean to pry, but it's kind of fascinating.

Eventually Trip watches as Skye grabs Coulson's hand in hers while she is still nodding at whatever he has told her, lacing their fingers together. Coulson has stopped talking, he's just looking at her. Skye moves closer, takes one step towards him and – 

And Trip turns around. He's nosy but not that nosy. He starts climbing the stairs back to the upper floor, in kind of a stealthy hurry, wanting to intercept Simmons before she returns and tries to go down to the lab. He is Skye's SO – he can at least do the girl this favor.

Trip doesn't wonder anymore.


End file.
